Cristiano Ronaldo surprised the entire football world when he refused to hold back against his current club, Manchester United, in a tell-all interview with The Sun's Piers Morgan this past weekend. Ronaldo fired shots against current United manager Erik ten Hag after the star forward was left off the team sheet entirely during the club's past two games, a continuation of his demotion to more of a limited role this season.
However, ten Hag is clearly not the type to back down. The 52-year old manager, who has tried to re-integrate Ronaldo into the lineup multiple times, even starting him during their 3-1 loss to Aston Villa as recently as November 5, has clearly had enough of the 37-year old forward's shenanigans.
According to ESPN, Erik ten Hag has informed the Manchester United brass that Cristiano Ronaldo shouldn't be allowed to suit up for the club, even if he believes that the all-time UEFA Champions League leading scorer can be of help to the club as the season progresses.
Ronaldo had already made waves earlier this season, perhaps acting up after failing to secure a move during the summer transfer window. CR7 memorably left the stadium at halftime during United's preseason tilt against La Liga side Rayo Vallecano and later on, he refused to come on as a substitute during United's 1-1 draw against Tottenham Hotspur.
The Portuguese international returned to United to much applause in 2021, and the club had high hopes after coming off a 74-point, second-place finish during the 2020-21 season. However, United were unable to build off their solid finish, and they slipped to sixth the following season, a full 11 points behind fifth-place Arsenal. And now Ronaldo's situation with the club has become unsalvageable.
At the end of the day, it remains to be seen whether Ronaldo can find a club that could afford his huge wages during the January transfer window. Perhaps United could just copy what Arsenal did with their former star striker Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and just cut him loose if an acceptable resolution cannot be found within the foreseeable future.
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